


A Christmas Miracle

by angsty_nerd



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Christmas fic, F/M, Liz uses the Sciences!, Max resurrection, Slightly Crack-ish Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:34:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21942976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angsty_nerd/pseuds/angsty_nerd
Summary: Liz decides to get herself the best Christmas present ever.
Relationships: Max Evans/Liz Ortecho
Comments: 6
Kudos: 19





	A Christmas Miracle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [maxortecho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/maxortecho/gifts), [Wunderlass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wunderlass/gifts), [soldierwitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soldierwitch/gifts), [bleumysti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleumysti/gifts), [Queenrikki](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queenrikki/gifts), [itslizortecho](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itslizortecho/gifts), [suzteel](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=suzteel), [EchoApothecary](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoApothecary/gifts), [CypressSunn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CypressSunn/gifts).



> Merry Christmas to my LSRNM buddies. Y’all and one of our cracked out discussions inspired this one. Hope you enjoy it!

Liz could remember, as a child, how desperately she believed in miracles. She could remember going to church with her mom and dad every Sunday, believing completely, without evidence, in Jesus and his resurrection. It was almost ridiculous how long she held on to the notion of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy. She probably could have made it to adulthood believing in impossible things, if not for Rosa's condescending eyerolls, and of course, her mother being a drunken mess.

She always believed that a miracle would happen and her mother would come home sober one day. Until the day that her mother didn't come home at all.

The final straw in her naivety was the death of her sister. She went to church and prayed for it to not be true. She prayed for kindness, for people to understand. With every prayer, reality got harder and harder… people cursing at her and throwing trash at her while she walked down the street. Graffiti on the Crashdown wall. 

She packed up her car and left town without looking back. There were no miracles in Roswell. There were no miracles anywhere on this stupid planet. 

Since then, not only did she become a realist, only believing in what she could see or feel, needing everything to be proven with scientific evidence...she also became a pessimist. People weren't to be trusted. She could only rely on herself from now on. 

There's no such thing as miracles.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The newly reconstructed research wing of the hospital was like a ghost town. Even though it was a Tuesday morning, it really wasn't surprising, being Christmas Eve and all. Liz's footsteps echoed loudly as she made her way down the hallway and slid her key into the lock of her lab door. 

She hit the lights as she entered, and without delay headed directly to the lab table, where her latest serum had been mingling with Max's DNA overnight. She took a sample from the mixture, dropping a few droplets into a clean Petrie dish, and then adding a drop of the stabilizer to the dish.

Finally she sat back on her lap chair, taking a deep breath and for the first time in over a decade, Liz prayed for a miracle. 

She set the timer on her cell phone. 

And then she waited.

The numbers ticked by. She knew that watching and waiting was just making it harder for her, but she was unable to look away.

Every minute felt like another day passing.

Twenty minutes felt like waiting another year.

And then it counted down to zero and Liz almost held her breath as she waited for the buzzer.

It was ready. 

She quickly prepped a sample onto the glass and slid it under the microscope.

Finally, Liz peered through the microscope lenses at the test sample and gasped. She pulled back, blinking and shaking her head as she stared at the test tube that sat innocently on the rack a few inches away. Leaning down, she checked the sample again. Then, she smiled.

"Time to wake up, sleeping beauty."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz couldn't quite believe that it had worked. It was mid November when everything changed...Noah killed by Max, Rosa raised from her grave by Max, Max...dead, by his own choices. Now, here she was, standing in her makeshift lab on the morning of Christmas Eve, a full year later, snow falling outside and the soft scent of evergreen and cinnamon in the air. The universe had given her an early present this year...a working serum that should heal and wake her love to be by her side on Christmas Day.

She knew, inherently, that she should let Michael and Isobel know...but she liked the idea of having him to herself for just a moment. And if she could bring him to them as a Christmas surprise, well wouldn't that just be the definition of a Christmas Miracle?

Liz packed her supplies from the lab, her microscope into its protective case, the serum, stored tightly in a new silver-needled syringe, prepped and ready to insert the cure into Max's pod. The stabilizing solution went into a second syringe. And then she was ready.

She hurried home to change. 

Searching through her closet, she pulled out the white sweater dress that she had purchased a few weeks earlier and her red wool coat. She took extra care styling her hair and applying her makeup. She stood there, nearly ready, studying her reflection, her cherry red lipstick in her hand. It was the final touch that would link her outfit and her effort together...except that she.kept hearing Maria's voice in her head.

_Red is armor! Anyway, no one wears that shade when they're planning to hook up with a hot cop by the end of the night! It's messy._

She dropped the lipstick like it burned. Liz Ortecho was not going to want or need any armor that night. 

She pulled on her black boots and collected her supplies. The last two steps were a kiss on the cheek for her father, who raised his eyebrows and whistled at the sight of her, and a hug for Rosa.

"I'll be back later." Liz told her sister softly. "With Max."

A finally call of Merry Christmas to her family, and then she was out the back door, loading her lab equipment into her trunk beside the duffle bag full of Max's clothes that she always kept at the ready.

The drive out to the cave where Max was born felt like it took twice as long as normal. Maybe it did. Liz had to drive slower than normal because of the snow on the ground. But the anticipation of what was to come made her impatient to get there as well.

20 years earlier, Max was born in that cave, emerging from his pod, a fully formed, 7-year-old alien kid. Now, tonight, she would wake him again, life flowing back into his adult body. He would be reborn into a second life. He would have a second chance to get it right. And Liz was determined to ensure that he wouldn't throw it all away again. This time, she needed him to stay.

The cold, desert air bit at her cheeks, as she trudged through the snow, up the hill to the cave entrance. She had to knock away a bit of snow that had piled up in front of the boarded up wooden frame that kept Max hidden safely inside. It had been a few weeks since she had made it to visit him. 

She spent Thanksgiving morning with Max, sitting beside his pod, softly telling him all of the things about him that she was thankful for...all the reasons that she fell in love with him. She knew he couldn’t hear her, and that he wouldn’t remember any of it. That was clear from Isobel’s time in the pod, and she had at least been alive during her stasis. Max was much further gone than his sister had been. She recorded the one-sided conversation on her voice notes app on her phone, hoping that one day he might be able to hear it. 

Since that day, between holiday commitments and the increasing evidence that she was growing close to a solution, she had kept busy and far from the cave. It had been more than 3 weeks since her last visit, and she missed even the comfort that being near him brought her, even if he wasn’t fully there. Seeing his face, his body, floating in the pod was always a reminder for her of what she was fighting for. It gave her strength to keep going. 

When she emerged from the dark corridor into the cavern that housed the pods, she froze in the doorway, and just let her eyes trail across Max’s figure from across the space between them. She tightened her grip on the bags she was carrying...Max’s duffle in one hand, and the case housing the results of her experimentation in the other. Finally, she closed the gap, making her way to his pod, and dropping her bags beside it. She lay a gentle hand on the top of his pod and smiled. 

“I hope you’re ready for this, Max.” She whispered to him. 

She bent over, unlocked the case, and pulled out the first of the two silver-needled syringes. She uncapped the tip of the larger one, checked for air bubbles, and turned her attention back to the pod. 

“Here we go!” She announced to the empty cave. And then she slid the tip of the needle through the pod’s membrane, and released the serum into the pod’s interior. 

There was a strange golden glow, as the serum mixed with the alien substance inside the pod, their molecular structures mingling and transforming, as they worked together to increase their energy output and recharge the battery, the power source, that was inside Max’s weary, damaged heart. The glow surrounded him as the serum did its job, and soon she watched as it merged with his cells, the glow entering the skin of his chest, right above his heart, and then slowly spreading outwards to consume him. Liz watched and waited until he was glowing from head to toe, and then she prepared the second serum, waiting for the appropriate time to inject it into Max’s bloodstream directly.

It didn’t take long. Liz gasped as his eyes flew open. From inside the pod, he made eye contact with her, and Liz smiled, her eyes stinging as she fought back tears of joy. Max reached out a glowing hand and pushed it through the pod’s membrane, reaching out to Liz, as he stumbled free of his containment.

The moisture from the pod immediately evaporated, as expected, and Liz reached out to him, wrapping an arm around him to help him stand. His skin still glowed, giving him a mysterious alien aura that almost took Liz’s breath away. She couldn’t resist running a hand across his chest, watching as his skin glimmered beneath her touch. She narrowed her eyes, chastising herself for her own distraction, and reached into her pocket for the second serum.

“Max, there’s one more thing,” Liz told him insistently, as she held up the remaining syringe. Max looked at it, looked back at her, and silently nodded. She didn’t hesitate, quickly thrusting the needle into his neck, and pushing the remaining treatment into his body. The glow began to fade from his skin, as his body began to regulate itself without aid. 

“It worked,” she murmured happily. Dropping the syringe, she lay a hand over his heart, overjoyed to feel it beating in his chest. “You’re alive.”

“Liz.” His voice was deep and rough, a symptom of lack of use. “What happened?”

She helped him stagger to a nearby rock to sit, and then went to retrieve the duffle back from where she had abandoned it near the pods. By the time she got back to him, Max was violently shivering from the cold. 

“Get dressed,” Liz ordered. “I’ll explain everything in the car.”

~*~*~*~*~*~

Max couldn’t remember ever being this cold before. He was struggling to even bend his fingers, as he dressed in the clothes Liz brought him. Surprisingly nice clothes, he suddenly realized, as he pulled out a pair of neatly pressed khakis and his blue flannel shirt. Inside the duffle were still socks and his nicer pair of boots. 

As he pulled the clothes on, he eyed Liz and suddenly realized that she looked incredible. She was almost glowing, she looked so happy and vibrant. The white sweater dress clung to her figure in all the right places, but the warm red coat hid just enough to leave it a bit of a mystery. A flush of desire filled him, and he turned away from her to focus on pulling on his boxer-briefs and khakis before he started reacting to her in a way that was less than gentlemanly.

Once he was dressed and all that remained was tying up his boots, Liz swiftly returned to his side. He turned his full attention to her, opening his mouth to ask a question, but before he could, her hands were on his cheeks, firmly gripping his face, and pulling him in for a kiss. Max trembled at the feeling of her hands on his skin, her lips claiming his...as if all of him wasn’t already hers.

Their lips separated, but Liz didn’t pull away from him. Her fingers still lightly stroked his face, as she leaned her forehead against his. Max could see their breath mingling in the space between them, visible from the chill in the air.

Liz opened her eyes, and he met her gaze. 

“I love you, Max.” She confessed, her eyes trying to convey how dead serious she was in the moment. Max thought his heart would burst, hearing the words from her that he had always hoped for, but never really believed he would hear. He could see the love pouring from her eyes. His silence hung in the air between them as he soaked in those three words, replayed them over and over in his mind. He wanted to say them back, but it didn’t feel like enough. How could three words, even the three most beautiful words, ever be sufficient to describe his feelings for her? 

“I’ve been waiting over a year to say that to you,” Liz admitted. “Merry Christmas, Max.”

“It’s Christmas?” He responded, his surprise sounding lame to his own ears.

“Christmas Eve, actually.” Liz confirmed. “2019.”

2019\. The thought chilled him and sent a shiver down his spine. A year. A whole year had passed. It was November 2018 when the UFO Emporium Reopening Gala happened. That was one of his more recent memories. That night everything changed, because they found out about Noah. 

Liz pulled back and coaxed him to his feet. His strength was slowly returning. His legs still felt shaky, but he felt like he could finally walk without assistance. 

“Come on...it’ll be warmer in the car.” She suggested, leading him out to the desert. 

Once in the car with the heater blasting, Max started to feel his equilibrium returning. While Liz drove, she brought him up to speed, giving her updates on the past year...on Michael and Isobel and what she knew about his parents and his job. She told him about Rosa and the process of reintegrating her back into society. She warned him that Rosa and Maria and her father were all in the know about the alien secrets.

"What about you, Liz?"

"Me?" Liz asked, surprised by the question. "There's not a lot to tell."

"Come on," he coaxed.

She sighed heavily, and then pulled the car to a stop on the side of the highway, flipping on her hazard lights, before turning her attention to him.

"Max...I've been working to bring you back. I've been waiting. I've been missing you. I've been fighting for us."

"Liz…" he murmured apologetically, but she held up a hand to silence him. 

"No." She insisted. "No apologies, Max. It's why we're here right now, in this moment. And I just… the last year gave me a lot of time to think. And the main thing is...I never want to be apart from you again, Max. You're...you're the love of my life. You're everything to me. And I know that this is going to sound impulsive and crazy to you, but it's not. I've had a year to think about what I want, Max. And I want… I want to marry you, Max Evans. I want us to be a family. I want you to know that I'm devoted to you and that I'm not going to run. And I want to know that you're never going to leave me again. Do you think… could we do that, Max?"

He stared at her, speechless and baffled by the words she spoke. His mouth hung open like an idiot, and suddenly the pieces started to fit. Liz in her white sweater dress. Bringing Max nicer clothes to wear. It wasn't just about Christmas. It was more.

"You mean right now, don't you?"

"Only if you say yes."

He shook his head and laughed out loud. He couldn't help it. The mere idea of him not saying yes… 

"Of course, Liz!" He exclaimed. "Of course I'll marry you. In a heartbeat, okay?'

"Okay," Liz repeated, with a smile so bright that he felt like it could light up the dark sky above them. 

He leaned across the car to her and kissed her, soundly. He kissed her to show her that he meant it when he said yes. He kissed her to show her that he'd be devoted to her forever. He kissed her to thank her for saving his life, and for loving him, and for waiting for him. He kissed her until he felt like he could barely breathe, and then he kissed her again, to apologise for having to pull away and breathe.

Liz laughed when they separated, the joy spread across her beautiful face, from her eyes down to her swollen lips.

"Can we stop at my house?" Max asked. "There's something I need to get."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Liz was so happy, she felt like she was high or something. Surely it wasn't possible to be this happy without chemical aid? Then again, how could any chemical substance possibly make anyone feel this good? This was the magic of Max Evans. This is what loving him did to her. 

She stood by the door in his house, afraid to follow him back to his bedroom. She wasn't sure being alone near a bed right now would help get them to the Crashdown any faster.

At the thought she pulled out her phone, punching out a quick message to Rosa with their status. She had barely finished when Max reappeared. He had a puzzled look on his face, and was studying the room, before his eyes fell back on Liz.

"Uh, Liz…"

She laughed as she suddenly realized why he was so confused. 

"Uh, yeah. I moved in. Wanted to take care of the place for you while you were gone. Rosa stayed with me for a while, but she moved back in with Papi about 6 months ago. It's okay, right?"

It was Max's turn to chuckle at her question. "I just agreed to _marry_ you, Liz. Of course you're moving in with me. It just took me by surprise to see you already here. I like it though. Our bedroom smells like you."

"Our bedroom," Liz repeated with a grin. "I like that. The entire time I've lived here I called it your room. Like, it couldn't really be mine until you could be in it with me. Did you get what you need?" 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. "Just thought we could use this."

"Max…" this time it was her turn to be rendered speechless. He crossed the room to her and opened the box and handed it to her. Inside was a diamond engagement ring and two wedding bands.

"I bought these years ago." He admitted to her softly. "Not long after I joined the force. It...I know it seems silly, but I always hoped you'd come home and...I...it was always you, Liz."

Liz handed the box back to him. Once it was safely stashed away in his pocket, she slid her hand into his. 

"Come on," she told him. "Let's go make it official."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The lights inside the Crashdown Cafe were like a warm beacon, summoning them in from the cold. Liz parked in back, and then led Max around to the front, so that they could make a proper entrance.

"Are you ready?" She asked him, just as he caught a glimpse of a number of figures in the window of the cafe. He barely had time to process the sight before Liz pulled the door open and pushed him inside.

It was a flurry of noise and light and color inside of the cafe. A dozen or so pairs of eyes focused on the couple the moment they stepped through the door and there was a shout of congratulations. Suddenly Isobel was hugging him tightly, Michael slapping him on the back. His parents were there. Liz's dad and Rosa, Maria and Alex and Mimi DeLuca on one side of the room, with Kyle and Sheriff Valenti on the other. Even Cam was there, with an unfamiliar woman sitting next to her, who, after a moment's assessment, Max decided must be her sister Charlie. Everyone he loved, all together in one room.

In one corner stood a Christmas tree, decorated in green lights, with ornaments of stars and planets and UFOs decorating it. There was a makeshift aisle lined with poinsettias down the middle of the cafe, which had been cleared of its free-standing tables. At the end of the aisle stood Rosa, holding a notebook in her hand.

"Come on, Max," Michael urged him. "I decided to take the liberty of assuming that I'm your best man. Let's do this." And Michael led him down the aisle to where Rosa waited. 

She reached for him and pulled him into a hug. 

"Thank you," she told him softly. "I'm so grateful to be here today."

"Are you...officiating?"

"Damn right I am." Rosa laughed. "I'm an ordained Pastafarian minister! When Liz and I first started talking about her plan, even just as a joke, we decided that I'd better get ready to perform this ceremony. So I registered with the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster."

Max couldn't help it. He threw his head back and laughed. "That...that's fantastic! Thank you, Rosa."

"Okay everyone!" Rosa announced loudly with a clap of her hands,"Let's get this party started! Gather around!"

And it was just that simple, which was perfect to Max. Their friends and family gathered around on either side of the poinsettia aisle. Someone hit play, and music began playing. Max didn't recognize the song playing, but he didn't mind. The words rushed over him as he waited for Liz, who stood by the Crashdown doors, speaking softly with her father.

_There was a time when I would have believed them_

_If they told me that you could not come true_

_Just love's illusion but then you found me_

_And everything changed_

_And I believe in something again_

_My whole heart will be yours forever_

_This is a beautiful start to a lifelong love letter_

_Tell the world that we finally got it all right_

_I choose you_

_I will become yours and you will become mine_

_I choose you_

_I choose you_

Finally, eyes shining with tears threatening to fall, Liz turned to meet Max's eyes. She took her father's arm, and slowly they began to make their way down the aisle towards him. Max couldn't pull his eyes away from Liz. She had shed her red coat since they entered the Crashdown. Now, clad in her white sweater dress, a red scarf still around her neck, and a single red poinsettia tucked behind her ear. She radiated warmth and love as she slowly walked closer to him.

_We are not perfect we'll learn from our mistakes_

_And as long as it takes I will prove my love to you_

_I am not scared of the elements I am underprepared,_

_But I am willing and even better_

_I get to be the other half of you_

_Tell the world that we finally got it all right_

_I choose you_

_I will become yours and you will become mine_

_I choose you_

_I choose you_

Finally, she stood opposite him, and Arturo passed her hand to his.

"I'll forgive you for not asking for Liz's hand, seeing as you were dead an hour ago," Arturo told him softly. "Luckily, I also know that you love my daughter. You've worn your love for her openly since you first started coming into my restaurant. So I know I don't have to threaten you or warn you to treat her right. But, no more dying on her, okay?"

"Yes sir." Max committed. "I'll be here for her."

"Good. Then, welcome to the family, Max."

With that final proclamation, loud enough for the whole room to hear, Arturo turned back to Liz, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. Then, he stepped aside to allow the ceremony to begin.

Max turned to face Liz fully, clasping both of their hands together between them, as Rosa began to speak.

"So… here we are. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I always knew this day would come. I wouldn't have been doing my job as an older sister if I didn't notice the way Max always looked at Liz. It was always clear to me that to him, my baby sister walked on water. And as far back as I can remember, I always knew that if Liz started looking back at him, that would be it for them.

At the end of Liz's Senior year of high school, I saw it beginning to happen. She started looking, and frankly, it scared the crap out of me. I was bitter and angry, sick of Roswell and everyone in it. But while I felt trapped here, Liz had all the potential in the world. I just knew she was going to leave, and that she would change the world someday, and I didn't want her giving up that future for a boy. 

My sister Liz is a miracle. And so is Max Evans. These two are a force of nature together. They're the perfect team. Liz is the brains of the operation. She's also the fire, the fighter. Max is the muscle, obviously, but he's also the heart. Now I understand that Liz won't just change the world alone...she and Max will do it together.

Now, are you two ready to pledge yourselves to each other?"

"Yes," Max said softly, as Liz echoed his agreement.

"Okay, then here we go. Elizabeth Ortecho, do you promise to stand by Max's side, to share and protect his secrets, to never, ever run away from him, and of course, to love and cherish him for the rest of your life?"

Liz reached up and stroked his cheek, looking deep into his eyes, as she softly and firmly stated, "I do." 

"Max Evans, do you promise to stand by Liz's side, to protect her, to never, ever leave her, to follow her wherever life and science takes her, and to love and cherish her for the rest of your life?'

He grinned. "Yes. Absolutely. I do."

Max pulled the rings from his pocket, opened the box for Liz, as she pulled his ring free. Then he took her two rings, the diamond engagement ring and wedding band before stashing the box back in his pocket. Rosa silently gestured for them to continue, and so, Max took Liz's hand, and gently slid the rings into place. She did the same for him, and then they locked hands, feeling the metal click against each other for the first time. 

"Okay, then, with the power vested in me by the Flying Spaghetti Monster, congratulations, you're now husband and wife. Time to kiss!"

Max took a step towards her, hands on her hips as he pulled her body closer to his. Liz wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him lower, but they didn't kiss. Not quite yet. They just stared happily at each other for a long moment until Max murmured to her, "Best Christmas present ever."

And then, for the first time, he kissed his wife, while the cheers and jeers of their family and friends erupted behind them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

They celebrated late into the night.

Most of the parents had gone home hours earlier, and slowly their friends starting trickling out as well. 

Feet sore from dancing, and exhausted from, you know, being dead earlier, Max had slid into a booth, resting his back against the wall, legs laying out over the bench. Liz finished off the song she and Rosa were dancing and laughing to, and then she switched the jukebox to Sarah McLachlan, softer music for the end of the night.

She couldn't stay away from Max. His presence was magnetic for her, so she slid into the booth with him, sliding between his legs and resting her head against his firm chest. 

"Hi," he mumbled to her in a sleepy voice.

"Hi yourself." Liz replied.

Rosa and Kyle were the last ones left with them, so they slid into the booth opposite Max and Liz. They were bickering, typical siblings, but Liz didn't care and wasn't listening. She was just happily basking in the feeling of Max surrounding her. It had been so long and she had missed it so much.

"What are you thinking?" He asked her.

"You, me, Rosa...all three of us should be dead, and yet, here we all are. It's completely illogical that this could all work out, and...it did. It’s a miracle. A real Christmas miracle.”

"Merry Christmas, Liz."

"Merry Christmas, Max."

**Author's Note:**

> The song is I Choose You, by Sara Bareilles. Amusingly enough, not a new song, but one I literally heard for the first time yesterday (Dec 23) and it motivated me to finish this story up. So it was an easy choice for their wedding song.


End file.
